Commonwealth of Düsseldorf and Duisburg (A better world TL)
History Pre-1914 #''See: Prussia (A better world TL)'' The inter-war years #''See: Prussia (A better world TL)'' The Anti-Serbia War (1914-1918) #''See: Prussia (A better world TL)'' The Great Depression (1929-1940) #''See: Prussia (A better world TL)'' The Anti-Hitlerian War (1939-1946) #''See: Prussia (A better world TL)'' Aktion Rheinland (German for Operation Rhineland) was an operation carried out by the Anti-Nazi resistance group in Düsseldorf led by Karl August Wiedenhofen. The goal was to surrender the city of Düsseldorf to the advancing Americans without any fighting, thereby preventing further destruction. The action occurred on 17 April 1945, during the latter stages of the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket. The city was a target of strategic bombing during World War II, particularly during the RAF bombing campaign in 1943 when over 700 bombers were used in a single night. Raids continued late into the war. As part of the campaign against German oil facilities, the RAF raid of 20–21 February on the Rhenania Ossag refinery in the Reisholz district of the city halted oil production there. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Düsseldorf in mid-April 1945. The United States 97th Infantry Division easily captured the city on 18 April 1945, after the local German Resistance group launched Aktion Rheinland. In 1946, Düsseldorf was made in to a city state. The city's reconstruction proceeded at a frantic pace and the economic transformation guided Düsseldorf's economic growth. Cold War The British swore never to get done over by Germany or see the Dutch get crushed again, so they set up the pro-Western puppet state of Düsseldorf (Low Franconian, Ripuarian: Düsseldörp ). The Allies quickly started the rebuilding of the region, but it would last for many years due to the legacy of the fierce fighting in the region. 2,500 British troops would arrive in the town, with a logistic base operating there between 1945 and 2008. 250 New Englander and 250 Canadian troops are still stationed in there and first arrived in 1947. Düsseldorf ganed home rule in 1949 and gradually gained substantial home rule by 1953. Dominion status was granted in 1972. As America began to decline, invert, turn on itself and implode under President Richard Nixon the Düsseldorf would intime pick up most of the political, ecanomic and diplomatic losses and slackness they left behind in the western world. The crisis was bad in the mid 1970's, but had been had cured by the late 1990s. 1990s The BAOR left Osnabrück in 1996, but it was partly relocated to Düsseldorf and Duisburg during 1997 and 1998. Many British troops happily settled in Düsseldorf and some Düsseldorfers also happley settled in the UK. 2,500 French and 250 Texan troops were station there between 1997 and 1998. Life today Some of the local council's seats have fallen to a pro-German unity party in 2007. There has been a growing clamour for German reunification since 2008. There is still a modest desire for the nation to remain in the British Commonwealth. It is a defacto Anglo\French client state, but is gradually emerging as a nation in its own right. Culture Düsseldorf (/ˈdʊsəldɔːrf/; German: ˈdʏsl̩dɔɐ̯f , Low Franconian, Ripuarian: Düsseldörp ˈdʏsl̩dœɐ̯p), often Dusseldorf in English sources, is a major cultural center in the former Germany. Düsseldorf is known for its academy of fine arts (Joseph Beuys, Emanuel Leutze, August Macke, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, and Andreas Gursky), its pioneering influence on electronic/experimental music (Kraftwerk) and its Japanese community. On the river Rhine, Düsseldorf holds Rhenish Carnival celebrations every year in February / March. It is one of the central cities of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area. Mercer's 2012 Quality of Living survey ranked Düsseldorf the sixth most livable city in the world. The Düsseldorfer Radschläger (Boy who does Cartwheels) is said to be the city's oldest tradition. The symbol of the cartwheeler can be found on many souvenirs and various things in Düsseldorf have the cartwheelers to thank for their names. This tradition was honoured in 1954 by the erection of a fountain, called Cartwheeler's Fountain, on the Burgplatz in Düsseldorf. Important newspapers and journals such as Handelsblatt, Rheinische Post, Wirtschaftswoche, Deutsches Wirtschaftsblatt and VDI-Nachrichten are published in Düsseldorf. Almost all of these papers are available online on the Internet. Renowned filmmaking companies, such as Germany's biggest cinema enterprise, the Riech-Group, and TV channels such as WDR and QVC are located in Düsseldorf. The foundation Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is supporting the production of film and new media. Monheim am Rhein has many historic tourist attractions in it. Economy Düsseldorf is an international business and financial centre, renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. The city is headquarters to one Fortune Global 500 and two DAX companies. Messe Düsseldorf organises nearly one fifth of premier trade shows. Düsseldorf has become one of the top telecommunications centres in Germany with mobile phone prviders D2 Vodafone and E-Plus, Düsseldorf. There are many foreign information and communication technology companies in Düsseldorf such as Huawei, NTT, Ericsson, Nokia, and GTS. There are two airlines with headquarters in the city: Eurowings and formerly independent LTU International.T here are 400 advertising agencies in Düsseldorf inclufding BBDO Group and Publicis. Ogilvy & Mather, Dentsu, Hakuhodo, and DDB are based thire. Several other major companies have their headquarters in the city: Peek & Cloppenburg (fashion); Uniper (electricity generation); L'Oréal Germany (Cosmetics and Beauty); Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Branded Consumer Goods and Industrial technologies); Metro (wholesale, retail); Ceconomy (retail); ERGO (insurance); Esprit Holdings (fashion, headquarters in Ratingen near Düsseldorf); BASF Personal Care & Nutrition (formerly Cognis - chemicals, headquarter in Monheim am Rhein near Düsseldorf, but production mainly in Düsseldorf). Daimler AG builds the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter light commercial vehicles in Düsseldorf. Since the 1960s, there has been a strong relationship between the city and Japan. Many Japanese banks and corporations have their European headquarters in Düsseldorf – so many that Düsseldorf has the third largest Japanese community in Europe, after London and Paris. The "Kö", which stands for Königsallee ("King's Avenue"), is a shopping destination. Some jewellery shops, designer labels, and galleries have their stores here. The Kö has among the highest rents for retail and office space in Germany. Duisburg is a major producer of steel, hot iron, steel wire, steel rebar and pig iron. Düsseldorf is a major producer of light automobiles and consumer durables. Monheim am Rhein has many historic tourist attractions in it. It gained greatly in the struggle to replace the USA's lost production in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The 2012 EU Stock Slump (A better world TL) and the 2008 European 2008 European Toxic Debt Crisis (A better world TL) had only a minor effect. Organisations #EU (A better world TL) #NATO (A better world TL) Category:Düsseldorf Category:A better world (TL) Category:Towns and cities